Chapter 35
31 Jan 2025
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Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
-oOo-
February 18, 1994
Karlsburg Preserve, Switzerland
Anders and him had been taken in by people he remembered from a different time. His brother Regulus had been named after their great-grandfather's brother, Regulus Black I. In Sirius's timeline, Regulus I had died from dragon pox before getting married or having children. Now, his great uncle was the head of the Black family in the Karlsburg Preserve.
He found himself meeting fifteen relatives that had never existed before.
One of them, the one he had found he connected with the most, was a cousin about his age. Melania Orville, the granddaughter of Regulus, was sitting at a small table on the boulevard of Westfold. Like Nurmengard, all the residents and shops were along the outside wall. Unlike the vast parks of Nurmengard, Westfold was the main farming area. It was a little smaller than Nurmengard with fields of crops in the centre and greenhouses along the south wall. Most of the greenhouses extended into the rock.
He had his fingers on the top of an aromatic cup of tea, letting the steam warm his hand. It was a comfortable temperature, even warmer in the fields, but there was still a nip to the air from the glacier over their heads. He was watching the people in the fields.
The slightly plump woman with straight black hair was putting cream into a cafe. "I've been to the United States. They prefer these massive cups of coffee, but it's too weak for me," Melania said in slightly German accented English.
Sirius just nodded.
"I know you've been talking a lot with grandfather," she said.
"Yeah."
The boulevard was not as busy as Nurmengard. Most were patients, workers or Healers from the small hospital and workers from the farms.
She put the spoon down and reached for a scone. "I'm sure your curious why I asked to meet?"
"I figure that you just wanted to get to know me," Sirius told her. He was wondering how much of what they did here they could apply to Hogwarts and Isla Matanceros.
She gave him a little smile. "That is one reason, though I think over the last two days I've been able to see what Uncle Gellert sees."
He turned his attention back to her. "I wasn't aware you were so close to Councillor Grindelwald?"
"I've known Uncle Gellert all my life. My great-great grandfather was his mentor. He's part of our family," she said.
Sirius was still getting over the fact that great-grandfather Phineas Nigellus was this great man that helped to create all this. The man would have sooner killed all the Mudbloods and creatures than save them. He could only figure that when faced with genocide, all magical blood became precious.
"That is good to hear. Do you work for Gellert?" he asked. He had spent as much time with the man as he had his 'family'.
"I'm a head administrator for the hospital. You haven't really told us what you do for work," she put to him.
Sirius shrugged. "Not much really."
Her brow rose. "That is not the opinion of Uncle Gellert or my family. My father said you are the lead councilman for your enclave."
Sirius snorted. "Hardly. To tell you the truth, we have only been trying to survive and find others."
"So, you are an ambassador?"
"Maybe," he said. "Melania, can I ask you something?"
"This meeting is for us to get to know each other better," she said. She took a bite of her scone.
Sirius looked out over the fields. "I've asked your great-grandfather, but he won't talk about what happened to his siblings or uncles. Do you know?"
Her face went blank as she finished her bite. Her sigh was heavy. "I don't know the details, but there was a falling out between him and his brother. Sirius Black, who I assume you were named after, left the preserve. I think one of their cousins left as well. It's one of those dark secrets of our family that no one talks about."
"So, you don't know what happened to Sirius or Cygnus?" He found he wanted to understand why the Sirius and Andromeda of this world had not been here. He also wanted to find out more about his family tree, but Dora didn't know anything about her mother's family besides Sirius, and he hadn't investigated it yet. Not that he had had much time the last few months.
"All I know is that there was a fight about something. Grandfather Regulus won't talk about it. It happened before my grandfather was born. To find there are still Blacks out there is a surprise to us," she replied.
He nodded.
"If you stay, then I'm sure you could get Grandfather Regulus to tell you," she suggested.
Sirius shook his head. "I need to get back to my godson and the others. Anders and I are looking to leave tomorrow."
She was surprised. "So soon? I thought you were going to take Harold and the others here?"
"His name is Harry. I would have to drag him kicking and screaming. The council doesn't look to want anything to do with why we are here, so I don't see the need to stay around," he answered.
"The treaty with the goblins?" She didn't seem pleased at the prospect.
"Yeah. I think we can work with the council here, but I can't go back on my word to the goblins."
She nodded and took a sip of her coffee. "I understand. Honour and trust is a value that has kept us all alive. Our family values its word and we are very well respected here."
Sirius snorted in dark mirth. He shook her head at her questioning gaze. "I'm sorry, where I come from, the Blacks were a much different lot."
It was a fact he was struggling with.
"You've mentioned something like that a few times. Where do you come from? I thought you grew up in England and moved to Costa Rica?" she asked.
"In a way, that is true." He left it at that.
She frowned. "Sirius, you obviously know about our family, but you keep alluding to it being different. I don't like it. You make it sound like the Blacks are horrible people."
Sirius gave her a wry grin. "Let's just say I come from a different place. The Blacks were not nice people. Anyone like Regulus would have been driven out of the family. The fact that Phineas Nigellus is regarded as some great hero is… odd."
That was not satisfying to Melania. "And this different place, is that where you learned the magic you do? I've never seen the like. Even that simple healing spell you taught us is almost as good as most of our potions."
Learning that the great library of Karlsburg consisted of a total of fifty-three books of magical knowledge had been a surprise. He was understanding how all traces of wand lore and other magics beyond a first year Hogwarts student had been lost. In the last fifty years, more knowledge was being added, but the rods and the simple potion ingredients they had was very limiting.
Giving the researchers here some wands could help them all. He had agreed to give the preserve twenty-five wands with the knowledge that they would most likely be destroyed to learn how to make them. The rest of the wands he would offer to anyone that could use them. It wouldn't do them any good to have more than two hundred wands and just let them rot.
Not when magic was still on the brink of extinction.
Anders and him were also in talks about the books and scrolls they had. He was unsure still to give them everything. Instead, they had entered negotiations into allowing others to study at Isla Matanceros when the school was established. He figured if they could get a few people here up to a NEWT level education, they could get a real school established at Isla Matanceros.
It would also allow for the library at Isla Matanceros to become the central repository, and once everything was scanned, they could share the database with the other preserves, minus the dark magic or other knowledge that shouldn't just be used willy nilly.
"The magic I've been showing the Healers is just simple field diagnostics and quick and dirty healing spells. I wish I knew more advanced stuff. I only know the field medicine taught to Aurors," he told her.
"What is an Auror?"
"A mix between police and your guards," Sirius answered.
"Interesting. And you were an Auror?"
Sirius shrugged. "It paid the bills."
She smiled. "I don't get the sense you are someone that just does something for the hell of it."
He shrugged again. "I had my reasons."
"But you won't tell me?"
"It was a different place," he said again.
"When you go back, will you be going to this different place?"
Sirius regarded her. "Why?"
She sipped at her coffee a few times before replying, "Uncle Gellert has asked for a few volunteers to go with you. He wants to see what this new preserve is like and would like to have a representative present when you talk with the goblins again. The council will never move on a treaty with them. There is too much bad blood between the dwarves and the goblins, but he doesn't want to be blind to it either."
Sirius rose his eyebrows. "Are you coming?"
She shook her head. "I've been approached. I have not made my decision. I think two others will as well, but I don't know who. Would you be willing to stay a few more days for the council to decide?"
Sirius pinched his lips together. He wasn't sure if he liked that idea, but to be fair, Anders and him had come here, and they were asking this preserve to sign off as well. "The new town and school aren't setup yet, but I'm sure they could see what we are doing. Will it cause issues if they are involved in our talks with the goblins?"
"I doubt it. I'm sure Uncle Gellert has told the council about this. If not, he won't keep it from them when the group gets back. He is open with the council and those of us that are part of the upper administration team in the preserve," she replied.
Sirius found that different than what he had expected.
"Alright," he replied. "Once we get back to a town with a phone, I'll let everyone know we have guests coming."
"We have a radio that we can send a message to Ayer to the north and have them send a letter or missive," she suggested.
"I'd rather talk with our own council, but you and others will be welcome," he said, making the executive decision.
Melania smiled. "Excellent. Now, Harry, you haven't talked much about him yet, but it is obvious he means a great deal to you."
Sirius smiled. "He's all I have left of my family. Though he's the biggest trouble magnet I've ever seen. Even worse than his father and our friends were."
She chuckled. "Aren't all kids? Mathew has broken his arm twice playing sports and Wendy accidentally poisoned herself last month in class. She added the wrong type of mushroom into a potion," she said when he rose a brow at her.
Mathew and Wendy were her fifteen-year-old twins. Mathew came off as a rough and tumbles sports type who already had his sights on becoming a Knight of Walpurgis, while Wendy was a pretty little thing that reminded him a lot of Lily when you put a potion before her.
Sirius shook his head. "If it was only that mundane." When she rose a brow at him, this time he chuckled. "Do you know what a dinosaur is?"
"Big lizards that died millions of years ago. We've seen the advertisements for the new Jurassic Park, but that can't be real," she said.
Sirius grinned. "Oh, they are real."
She gave him a dubious look. "Dinosaurs, dragons and many other animals are all dead now."
Sirius grinned even broader. "Nope."
"Nope what?" she questioned after a moment.
"They are real. I've seen then. I've touched some. I've fought some," he said, a laugh escaping him when her hand stopped just before putting the small espresso to her lips. Her eyes were huge.
After a moment, she lowered the cup to the table. "You are serious, aren't you."
Sirius let out a barking laugh. "That is what they call me."
She made a face. It had been a while now since he could make that joke with someone new.
"No, SIriusly," he replied with a cheeky grin. "Harry and I killed a lindworm at Hogwarts, we helped to keep a Norwegian Ridgeback in the Durmstrang Preserve and Harry's familiar is a big bleeding tyrannosaurus rex."
Her eyes went even wider. She muttered something in German he wasn't sure if it was a prayer or a swear.
"You have been to Hogwarts?"
"Last Summer. There isn't anything left," he told her. "We want to re-establish the preserve there."
She emptied her espresso. With a heavy sigh, she said, "I may know some about the argument that split our family."
His brow rose.
"Grandfather won't talk about it. Uncle Gellert has mentioned the argument was about Hogwarts. From what I understand, the Blacks were once masters up there," Melania said.
Sirius snorted. "The Blacks were never masters of Hogwarts. It was a magical school. We had a few relatives that were Headmasters before it fell." He picked up the fencing blade he always carried with him. "This is a family heirloom. We found it in the rubble."
"Really? I didn't know that. Headmaster?" she said thoughtfully. "I think they wanted to reopen the preserve. Or they thought a great treasure was still there."
Sirius nodded. He wondered if they knew about the Chamber of Secrets? "If they ever made it, we didn't find any evidence."
She nodded. "I have to get back to the hospital soon. Would you join us for dinner tonight?"
Sirius shrugged. "I don't have anything else to do. Anders will join me, if you don't' mind?"
She smiled. "The more the merrier. Maybe I can talk with Uncle Gellert and find out more information."
He walked away from the morning tea feeling weary again. He hoped they were not looking for what Harry and him had found in the Chamber. If there was something else there, then Harry and him would have to get back there first. Could this also be why the goblins were pushing to go there?
-oOo-
February 20, 1994
Isla Nublar, Costa Rica
After being back to Isla Nublar for almost a month, Harry was liking the fact he had a place to call home. He was falling into a schedule between his studying in the library, the tutors, spending time with Lex and the others, Rexy and his training with Simmons and Yvonne.
He had extraordinarily little time to just sit down and think, which was the way he liked things. Harry wasn't a deep thinker. He had always been more a doer.
He was required to think and become more of a studious student than he ever had been. He would prefer to spend more time with Rexy and with his sword, but the reward system if he did well was worth it.
Currently, Lex was straddling his lap as he sat on the couch in the mobile home. Her shirt was on the floor and her lips were sucking at his neck as she held his hands down. He groaned. "Lex, is this a reward or torture?" he asked as she rocked her hips.
She chuckled into his neck, her bra rubbing against his bare chest, which was just as torturous as her warm breath on his neck. "A bit of both," she said, before kissing his neck and straightening up. His eyes followed the curve of her shoulders to her chest before coming up to meet her eyes. She rocked on his lap again. He growled at her. Her blue eyes were full of desire.
"What did I do to you? I thought I got the quiz right?"
"You did. You were mean last night," she told him.
He grinned. He hadn't meant to leave her so hot and bothered when he had to leave her. It wasn't his fault they had been interrupted by Sirius. "I was only kissing you."
She narrowed her eyes. "Your fingers weren't, and you stopped too soon."
He tried to lean forward to peck her. When she pulled back, he landed one on the peak of her bra. "HARRY!"
"Yes?" he asked innocently.
She huffed, her eyes becoming hooded now. "Let me finish teasing you, then I'll decide if you are a good boy."
He thought quickly about just turning the tables and rolling her over, but thought this might be fun too…
A ringing of the phone had him yelling, "Bloody fuck!"
"You have to be fucking kidding me," she exclaimed, putting her forehead onto his shoulder. It rang three more times.
"I have to get that," he told her.
She huffed, getting off his lap.
He was going to kill someone if this was something stupid. "Hello?" he said rather gruffly.
"Hello to you too, sunshine," Yvonne said cheerfully. "I hope I didn't interrupt any arousing conversation?"
"Sod off, Yvonne," he gruffed.
She laughed on the other side. "You and Lex can calm your hormones for a bit. There's a call for you up here. You need to get here ASAP."
Harry huffed. "I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Fast, Harry. Sirius is on a call with the others," she said.
He perked up. "I'll be right there."
Lex looked as disappointed as him when he hung up. "Again?"
"Again," he said, reaching for his shirt and then tossing hers over. He really didn't want her to cover up. He talked while pulling his shirt on. "Sirius is on a conference call. I have to get there now."
"I'm coming," she said.
He grinned as she pulled her own shirt over her head. "I was rather hoping you would."
She blushed some. "As long as it's me first this time."
When she got her sandals on, he reached out a hand. Threading her fingers into his, he pulled her close, then twisted. The soft pop was muffled in the room Mister Hammond had modified for them to do this.
He had to use his cardkey to get into the conference room. Mrs Murphy, Mr Lockwood, Doctor Bones and Mrs Greengrass were already seated.
"Harry is here now, Sirius. As is Lex," Mrs Murphy said, a brow raised at her daughter.
Harry tried not to blush at the look she gave him next.
"Good. I have a lot to tell you all," Sirius said.
"You mean more than you have already told us about the Hapsburg preserve?" Mrs Bones enquired.
"A lot more, but Harry would be the only one to understand the true changes. Sorry pup, but I'm going to have to rely on you to explain. The bus is supposed to be here in about ten minutes," Sirius said over the phone.
Harry had a sinking feeling. "Sirius, what did you find?"
Sirius gave an uncertain chuckle. "Nurmengard, Gellert Grindelwald and Phineas Nigellus Black."
"What the bloody hell!" Harry blurted out.
"What does all that mean?" Mrs Murphy asked.
"Lynne, let me finish. Listen, pup. Everything has been flipped on its head. The others can tell you about my report about the preserve, but my arse of a Great-Great grandfather, Phineas Nigellus Black, was actually a good man. He was the one that saved the Hapsburg preserve. He worked with dwarves, veela and house elves, though they call them brownies here," Sirius said. "Then there are the yeti-type things. I've never heard of or seen anything like them. They are not related to trolls. Think more like an even harrier Hagrid with white hair all over him."
Harry sat back in his chair. He looked dubiously at the phone. "Are you sodden?"
Sirius laughed. "I wish. It's true. Grindelwald was Phineas Nigellus's last apprentice. He leads this place now. He's not out to rule the world. He seems to actually care about this place and protecting anything that is magical. Him and the Knights of Walpurgis."
Harry shot up. "TELL ME THERE IS NO VOLDEMORT!" he roared.
It scared everyone in the room as his magic surged up. The lights flickered.
"Not that I've come across. But listen. They are the good guys now. At least from what I can tell. Everything you know, it's all on its head."
"Shite! Shite! Shite! Sirius, you are sure there is no Voldemort or Tom Riddle?"
"I asked. There is no Riddle or Gaunt in the place, according to the registry," he said.
Harry let out a deep breath. His magic pulled back in.
The others were looking at him a little wide eyed.
"What was that?" Mrs Murphy asked.
He looked a little guilty, "Sorry about that."
A hand touched his. "Your eyes were glowing," Lex said.
"Well, that is new," Sirius said into the silence.
Harry let out a nervous laugh. "Sirius, wasn't Nurmengard a huge castle in the mountains where Grindelwald kept all his prisoners?"
"I forget how bad your education is," Sirius grumbled. "It was his main stronghold and prison. It was supposed to be in the mountains of Austria, but the ICW never released where they found it. This one is below a glacier in Switzerland. I've never seen anything like it. That's not the important point right now."
"There are visitors coming, including one of my distant cousins and Gellert himself. They know more magic than the Greengrasses but are still like a first or second year in their knowledge. They don't know how to make wands, but think they can figure it out, but only if they take some apart," Sirius said.
Harry frowned. There was a low murmur around the room.
"Sirius, we don't have a ton of them," Mrs Murphy spoke up.
"We have all agreed to not do that until we know more," Mrs Bones added.
"I know, but I have agreed to let them have up to twenty-five wands. We need them. There are thousands of people here, and most of them are magical," Sirius said.
"Sirius, where is Alain?" Mrs Greengrass enquired.
"He went back out to keep an eye on the group and wait for the bus. There are six coming," Sirius said.
"I will talk with my father about it. We may have to pitch some tents. The new workers will be starting soon, and the park is preparing for its first real visitors in a month or so," she told him.
"I'll sleep in a tent if I have too. We can always charm them to be larger on the inside. Oh, I need to go. The bus is coming," Sirius told them.
"Sirius, be careful," Mrs Murphy said.
"I will, luv. I'll call you as soon as I can."
When they hung up, everyone looked to Harry. He was trying to go over everything in his head.
"Care to enlighten us why Sirius is so spooked about this?" Mrs Murphy questioned.
"He does seem rather unsettled," Mister Lockwood commented.
Harry let out a long breath and gently squeezed Lex's hand. "I'm not sure where to really start? I don't know a great deal about the Great War. Binns never talked much about it, and I never really read our history book."
Lex gave him an unimpressed look.
"Professor Binns was a ghost that put only the strongest willed person to sleep, and he focused almost all on goblin rebellions and the other conflicts between wizards and other magical races," he defended himself.
"Harry, when you say, 'The Great War', do you mean World War I?" Mrs Murphy enquired.
Harry shook his head. "No. World War II. It was the same war the wizards of all of Europe fought against Gellert Grindelwald and his armies."
This caught everyone's attention. "Are you saying that Sirius is taking some maniacal general here?"
Harry turned his glare to Mr Lockwood. "Sirius says everything is upside down. What little I know about Grindelwald, and most Dark Lords, is that they care little for those they rule and only desire power. I know a lot more about Phineas Nigellus Black. He is both Sirius's great-great grandfather and my great-great-great grandfather, and let me tell you, he is someone I am not happy to be related too. The thing is, the man I know about would have rather seen beings like dwarves, veela and house-elves destroyed, not saved. If that is true, then anything I know is probably wrong now."
"Alright, so we need to keep an open mind, but be cautious," Mrs Bones said.
"I think that is what Sirius was trying to tell us," Harry agreed.
"And what about your reaction to these Knights of Walpugus?" Mrs Murphy put to him.
"The Knights of Walpurgis. That is what the original Death Eaters were called, who served Lord Voldemort. Grindelwald was the dark lord of my grandparents' generation. Voldemort was the dark lord of Sirius's and mine. I don't know what relation they have to Grindelwald or Phineas Nigellus, but if Voldemort is around…" he looked around the room. He was finally starting to feel settled and like he was part of this world. "I just don't know. Nothing is the same."
Lex lifted his hand to her lips, kissing the back of it. "It's alright, Harry."
He let out a breath and put a hand on the back of his neck to rub it. "Everything I knew is just so different."
The adults saw the lost child that Harry almost never showed. "Like Lex said, it will be alright, Harry. We are all here," Mrs Murphy gently told him.
"Who is Voldemort?" Mr Lockwood asked.
Harry sighed. When he looked up, there was a fire in his eyes again. He could see that Mrs Murphy knew about it. He had told Lex a lot about the man. Harry hadn't really told anyone else. They only knew that he had come here after walking through a strange veil while chasing after Sirius during a fight.
"He is… was a very bad man that killed Muggleborns, muggles or anyone that got in their way. He led a group called the Death Eaters who wanted to rule the world. They were pureblood bigots that killed, raped, tortured and destroyed to get their way. They wanted a pureblood world, which is a little funny since their leader was the son of a Muggle and a nearly squib witch. He very nearly took over Britain until one night he met me." Harry lifted his hair to show the very faint lightning shaped scar still on his forehead. "He came for me one night. Killed my parents. When he tried to kill me, something happened. I don't know what. I was only fifteen months old. But he wound up losing his body and I got this scar."
Harry never wanted to tell anyone this except Lex. "They called me the Boy-Who-lived. The baby that killed the darkest dark lord in centuries. Grindelwald was the only one in the last two hundred years with a higher body count. I must believe that Voldemort is dead. I have to hope that this Grindelwald is different."
The room was silent for a moment. When Mrs Bones spoke up, she asked, "What's a muggle?"
"A rather offensive word that means you don't have magic. I should probably say normal or Nomaj? I hear that the Americans used to say that. Muggleborns were those born to muggle parents, like Lex or Hermione. The Bones and Blacks were some of the oldest Pureblood houses. The Potters were mostly purebloods but were known to take half-bloods or Muggleborns for spouses. My mother was a Muggleborn," Harry told them.
"It all sounds so prejudice," Mrs Murphy commented.
"It was. I don't ever want the magical world to be like that again. Its why we have been working with the goblins and half-giants. We need to preserve all the magic we can. It sounds like Grindelwald is doing the same. If he is, then he is not the man I was taught to fear," Harry said back.
"I think we should keep an open mind but be cautious. Obviously, everything you and Sirius knew about your old world isn't anymore. I don't want to risk us or our children either," Mr Lockwood replied.
There was a general agreement in the room.
When they walked out, Lex was still holding his hand as the others remained to talk. "Are you okay?"
"Sure," he replied.
"You know you say that when you aren't," she called him out on his mood.
Harry frowned. "I don't know, Lex. I desperately want there to be more wizards and witches. I don't know how to keep training you lot as we go on, and I don't really want too," he said a little selfishly.
"What do you want to do?"
He grinned. "I thought that obvious? I want to play with the dinosaurs. I want there to be magic again. I want to go back to Hogwarts."
"You mean to live?"
He shook his head. "No. I like it here too much. But to have Hogsmeade back to visit and the castle as a school again…" He sighed as they walked out of the building and towards the overlook. "Hogwarts was the only place I felt like home before your grandfather agreed to help us. Now I couldn't leave Isla Nublar or Isla Matanceros. It's where you and everyone else is."
"The Amber Coast," Lex said.
Harry looked to her. "The Amber Coast?"
"That's what most of us want to call it, with the town being Saffron Bay," Lex said.
His brow rose. "I hadn't realized we had decided."
"Well, the girls and I had a sleepover last week," she said. Harry knew she had invited them all over to the bungalow.
"And you want to call the island The Amber Coast?"
She grinned. "No. Only the east side of the island as that is where everything is being built. Charlotte had a strong opinion about it since it was amber that got us the dinosaurs and brought us all together. Hermione pointed out that saffron was another name for amber."
"Huh," he said, derailed from his more morbid thoughts for the moment. "We should bring that up to everyone else."
She smiled. "What a good idea."
He narrowed his eyes and then dug his finger into her side. She laughed. "HARRY!"
She shoved him, then started to run towards the overlook.
"Get back here!"
Harry took off after her.
Harry wanted to go back to Hogwarts, but it was no longer home.
-oOo-
February 22, 1994
Isla Nublar, Costa Rica
They entered a fenced compound with a half dozen trailer homes and two sheds. There was a fenced area between one of the sheds and a mobile home. He could see a creature the size of a small dog with blue markings down its back looking at him. There was an intelligence that made him uneasy.
More surprisingly was the twelve-foot-tall monster that was moving around, snapping at a raw chicken on the end of a pole. A young man with messy, jet-black hair was making the dinosaur run in circles while a rather attractive young blonde woman was sitting on the stairs of the trailer home watching the spectacle.
As they drove in, the boy allowed the dinosaur to get his prize before moving over towards the girl.
Gellert was wide eyed to see the boy so casually walk away, with his back to the thing that was throwing its head up to let the chicken slide down its throat. His instincts to fight were coming up as it turned his head towards them.
It was just another strange event in a string of strange events since meeting Sirius Black and Alain Greengrass.
To survive, the people of Karlsburg had to constantly adapt. Knowing what was going on in the outside world and being up to date on the most recent technology and knowledge was essential to find those that showed the talent, as well as to blend in. It was something that his mentor had relentlessly beaten into him more than a century ago.
In that time, he had never stopped learning. Though he was getting older, and his body was not what it once was, his mind was still as sharp as ever, and if what he had seen from others with the gift, he could still have another decade or two before he finally succumbs to the long sleep.
When he meets his maker, Gellert Grindelwald was determined to show his mentor that he had done as promised and hoped the maker would feel he did all he could to save magic.
Even so, he was feeling a little overwhelmed at what they had seen in the last two days.
He had gone out on teams to save those with the gift when younger. That had been decades ago. Seeing a city as large as London in real life was much different than seeing it on a television. Others with him were not as surprised, while the dwarf and brownie with him hadn't fathomed there was anything like this in the world.
To top it off was watching a boy petting a dinosaur with a long sword on his back. Gellert kissed his fingers and offered his blessing to the wind to take it to the goddess.
Sirius got out and greeted the teens, looking completely comfortable at the predator that was eyeing them. He dragged Melania along. The relationship between them had grown enough that Gellert thought it worthwhile to keep it growing.
He watched the scene, unsure what to think about it at first.
Melania was slowly approaching the twelve-foot-tall monster with steak knife sized teeth. Jesibel stepped forward, her fingers poised to snap. He gently put his hand on her smaller hand. "Hold. I sense no danger," he told her.
"But it will eat her," the brownie said, her huge yellow eyes even larger than normal.
"I do not think they would have taken us here if they meant that to happen," he said in a calm voice.
A look of wonder came over the woman he thought of as his great-niece as she pats the flank of the large dinosaur. The smaller bipedal dinosaurs let out a sharp call. Gellert turned to see four sets of eyes sizing them up.
There was a sense of danger from the small ones with large claws on their feet he didn't' get from the much larger tyrannosaur.
Sirius was standing between them and the boy. The boy turned to them with a smile, "It's alright. Rexy likes to be petted."
The massive thing growled at Harry and batted his shoulder with is snout. Harry stumbled and turned around. "You big baby," the boy shot back before growling at it.
"He is really talking to it?" Gellert asked.
"Yeah. He has a natural affinity to talking with some magical animals, and some dinosaurs," Sirius told him.
A blond girl came up next to Harry, chuckling at him and patting the thing on the tip of the nose. "She has no fear of it?"
"I think Rexy looks at both of them like his pack. He's rather protective of them, but we like to show those in the know what this is like. We have another young man here that has bonded with some velociraptors. Those things can be nasty, but they haven't hurt anyone… yet," he heard Sirius say, the last just barely loud enough for Gellert to hear. Sirius indicated the four dog sized dinosaurs that were intently looking them from behind the fence.
"When you say he can talk to magical animals, what kind, and can he read their language?" Gellert questioned.
Sirius turned his eyes to him. The man was always so suspicious of him and those at the preserve. Alain was far more open. The few stories he had gotten from Sirius led him to believe that there were secrets about himself that the black hair man was fighting against.
Sirius replied, "I'm not sure that is a secret I should give out. You will have to talk with Harry. He's a little sensitive about it at times."
"I see. Would you introduce us?"
Sirius nodded. "Come on."
Gellert approached the large dinosaur with far more confidence than he felt. Jesibel would go no further, while Borin shuffled his feet some. The dwarves were not a meek race, so would not be outdone by the wizards.
As he approached, the green-eyed boy turned to look at them. He shifted slightly to make sure his hands were free and to be able to easily protect the girl. Rexy, the dinosaur, rose its head over the pair. Its dark eyes were fixed on him. Like Sirius, this boy was incredibly defensive against him. He had pondered long and hard over the few hints that Sirius had given him and the picture he was getting was not comforting.
Sirius acted too different to not have been raised by true wizards, yet he knew there were none left. This could lead to only one conclusion: Sirius was not from here.
He had also mentioned his godson.
Seeing the boy and feeling his power, Gellert came to his second conclusion.
Both the boy and Sirius had been trained by those who truly knew the secrets of magic.
"Hey, pup, puppette," Sirius said with a grin.
The girl rolled her blue eyes. "Please don't call me that again."
The old man gave her a cheeky wink. "Sure, Blondie."
The girl made an aggravated sound. By her accent, she was obviously American.
The boy gave the man a harsh look before stepping forward and holding out a hand. "I'm Harry Potter."
Gellert reached out his own hand. The boy had a very firm grip. He was also British like Sirius. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm Gellert Grindelwald."
"A pleasure, sir. Who else is with you?"
Harry Potter was polite. The interesting thing was that everyone here looked to him as the leader. It was subtle, and the boy wasn't fully accepting it yet, but he could see how he was referred to by all those with magic, and even others. Gellert wasn't sure if it was the boy's obvious magic power or a natural charisma he seemed to have.
Gellert smiled. "You have met Melania Orville. This fine young lady is Jesibel Turgeon."
Harry bowed to the brownie. "It is nice to meet you, Miss Turgeon."
Jesibel returned the bow.
"And this grumpy old man is Master Borin Goldleaf," he introduced the dwarf.
"I'll give you old, ancient one," Borin grumbled as he stepped forward to shake Harry's hand.
Harry smiled. "A pleasure. I will admit, I've never met a true dwarf before. I don't think I need to look in Moria for more of you?"
The old dwarf snorted in mirth. "The boy thinks he's funny spouting that slag about us from that fool."
They squeezed each other's hands tight. Gellert was impressed the boy took it and looked to be returning the hard grip. He wondered if Harry knew that would be a compliment to the dwarf?
The girl gently hit the boy off the back of the head. "You are supposed to be behaving."
"The old man started it," Harry said.
Borin laughed and let the boys hand go. "See, I'm not the only one that thinks you are old."
Gellert let out a small smile. He had a sense humour would do better here. "How true, my old friend."
Borin gave him a glare.
Sirius gave out a barking laugh. "You tell him to behave."
"I will. Are you going to introduce me?" the girl questioned.
"Oh, right. Sorry, luv. Mister Grindelwald, Miss Turgeon and Master Goldleaf, this is my girlfriend, Alexis Murphy," Harry said. She did a little bow.
Gellert looked between her and Sirius, thinking he could see a slight resemblance. The man looked at both teens like a proud parent would. That would be a relationship he would need to know more about at some point. He had a feeling that this coven would become as important as Karlsburg. Between the two of them, they might be able to protect magic the way he always imagined.
He would do what he could to see it so. There were so few covens left.
"Miss Murphy, a pleasure. Sirius, you said there were others to meet?"
"Yeah. Hey, pup, where is everyone?"
"Misses Murphy, Missus Bones, Mister Lockwood and Mister Hammond are waiting for you at the bungalow. I thought Mister Greengrass was with you and the rest of us kids are in tutoring sessions right now," Harry told Sirius.
"And why aren't you?" Melania questioned.
Harry looked a little sheepish. "I got done with my sparring early today when we heard the helicopter was on its way in and didn't feel like going back to the library."
"And you are here because?" Sirius asked a little suggestively to Lex.
She had a beaming smile. "Harry asked me to come with him to meet you."
"Ah, huh," Sirius replied. A slight colouring came to her cheeks. Gellert was thinking there was something more than just boyfriend-girlfriend here. "Why don't you pup's get Rexy back to his paddock and then join us?"
"Sure. I have a class with Master Rrunlung this afternoon at two. It's been nice to meet you all," Harry said. He turned to Rexy and growled. Rexy returned a growl and snort back. When he turned to Lex, he asked, "You want a ride."
The girl's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? We don't have a jeep here."
Harry grinned.
"HARRY!" she yelled as he bent down and picked her up over his shoulder. Sirius laughed as Rexy bent down. "Put me down! There are guests!"
"Sure," he said, climbing onto the dinosaurs back.
Sirius rose a brow. "That's new," he commented.
Lex smacked Harry's arm as he gently put her down before him.
"You ever do that again and I swear…" she said as the massive thing got up and then stomped off towards the gate they had come through. He found that interesting as it had moved very quietly when they had first arrived.
Sirius gave out a barking laugh. "They are good for each other."
Melania gave Gellert a look. He was a little surprised as well.
Borin asked, "Can he use the sword?"
Sirius was still grinning. "That is what his sparring practice was for. Ask him to show you."
There was a grudging respect on Borin's face. "I like the lad."
Gellert returned a small smile. "I can see why. Is this group we are to meet the council?"
"Of a sort. We don't have any formal government yet, but we have been talking about it. I can take us over to the main compound if you want to get back in the jeep," Sirius offered.
Gellert turned to watch the two teens, and the tyrannosaur disappear into the jungle. His curiosity about this place couldn't be higher.
-oOo-
February 26, 1994
Isla Nublar, Costa Rica
Ishmael fingered his cross under his shirt. It was the only thing that proclaimed his faith. As was the case whenever he went undercover, he was dressed and acted like the locals. The Order of the Blind Hand, or the Order of Saint John d'Atares, had found him as a young boy. They had saved him from the devil, and he had dedicated his life to eradicating the devil since then.
For nearly thirty years he had been a member of the Order, and in that time, he had learned many skills and prayers. He was also a polyglot, a person that could easily learn and speak multiple languages. With his natural affinity in Spanish and the fact he was born in Brazil, he easily fit in with the other workers on the plane.
The small two-engine prop plane had thirty-two other passengers.
Three of them were also with the Order.
Their mission was to assess the potential for the sacrilege of magic and to find those that were using it. The Order needed intelligence and to find ways to eliminate this threat. The issue was going to be that they were a hundred and twenty miles from Costa Rica, so there would be no straightforward way to support, and potentially no straightforward way to get word back and forth.
He had done work like this before.
Patience and blending in was key.
"All right folks, if you look out the right windows, you can see the island in the distance. We will be landing in about ten minutes," the pilot said over the intercom.
He looked out the window past the pretty woman next to him. She gave him an attractive smile, which he returned, before she looked out the window too. From here, the island was hilly and mountainous, covered in a dense rainforest and held no hint of what was on the other side of the mountain ridges.
It was an idealistic place.
Evil proliferated even in paradise.
When they landed, he picked up his small backpack and helped the woman out of her seat. When they got off the plane, two short busses were waiting for them.
"Make sure you have all your documents, the offer letter and anything you will need for the day," a man said over a blowhorn. "Also ensure your luggage has your name and the number given to you on the mainland. It will be delivered directly to your rooms. Once that is done, please board one of the busses. We will be going straight to the Visitor's Center for registration and orientation. You will all be given a tour of the park within the next few days."
The man then repeated the instruction in Spanish and Portuguese.
A woman was at the door of the first bus. "What is your name?"
"Emmanuel Rodriguez," he replied. "I don't know much English."
She searched down the clipboard. She replied in accented Spanish, "If you don't mind getting on the second bus, we are separating you into your specialties."
Ishmael nodded. He and two others of the Order were to work in maintenance. That should get them into many places in the park that others may not.
There was a lot of talking. Ten others joined him on the bus. He recognized the other two brothers, but they didn't do anything to suggest they knew each other.
A dark hair woman of Hispanic descent climbed onto the bus. "Good morning. I'm Esperanza Morin, the group manager for Fence Maintenance. I was told you all speak Spanish. If you are more comfortable with English, let me know."
She waited for a moment. When no one spoke up, she went on, "You are all going to be working in the maintenance department, so we are going to start our orientation a little differently than those that are working in hospitality. Once you are registered and the orientation is over, you will be the first group going through the park tour later this afternoon. You will need to be very familiar with the park and will be shown around your responsible areas tomorrow."
She looked at them all. "Any questions?"
"Will we see the dinosaurs today?" a man at the front of the bus asked.
The woman gave him a smile. "I promise you will see some on the park tour."
When they left the airfield, he saw his luggage being loaded into a truck by some workers in blue overalls. He hadn't missed the four guards standing by a jeep who were in khakis and blue shirts. They all had a name on the uniforms on their left breast, with which department they worked in before it. On the back was a circle with a dinosaur skull in the centre with 'STAFF' over the logo.
Getting other uniforms would hopefully be easy. Figuring out what other security they had and whether prayer or normal means would get him where he needed would have to be seen.
The bus trundled through dense jungle and over dirt roads. He saw some high wire fences and buildings here and there, but no sign of the alleged dinosaurs. When they arrived at the Visitor Center, it was apparent that this was the heart of the island.
"On this lower level are the labs, computer rooms, boiler room, the staff cafeteria and the parking garage used by the security team, veterinarians and management. We will give you a tour of the main physical plant tomorrow," Esperanza was telling them as she walked them to the cafeteria.
The last two hours had been filling out forms and all the boring stuff of starting a new job.
"I heard one of the others talking about a tyrannosaurus rex. Is it really as large as a house?" the same man from earlier was asking.
"You will have to see for yourself. There will be plenty of time to see all the assets," she told him.
"Assets? I noticed that many call them assets. Why is that?" a woman asked. Ishmael would have to get to know all his coworkers, but he really wasn't that interested.
"InGen and Jurassic Park has invested millions in developing, raising and finding safe ways to display the dinosaurs. Since they are the main draw and the most valuable part of the park, the staff and much of the management refer to them as assets."
It made sense. He was sure that this was not cheap.
Sitting down, the other two Order members joined him at a table with their lunch. The cafeteria was busy, so the three of them were not really noticed.
"Security is going to be much tighter than expected," Michael, a young man of about twenty, said.
He had leaned in to not be overheard in the crowded room.
"All the doors on the lower level have card key access, and a few have number pads as well. It all looks electronic," Brother Oliver added.
"I also noticed cameras pointed at every door and looking down every corridor. We will need to be cautious," he told the others.
Oliver nodded. Michael was surreptitiously looking around the room. He stopped looking behind Ishmeal. "How many children are we looking for?"
"Three. Lex Murphy, Hermione Granger and the black hair boy," he said.
Oliver followed Michael's gaze. Ishmael wanted to look, but had been around enough to know that would draw unwanted attention. "Do you see them?"
Michael's eyes were moving. "I count six. Hermione Granger is with them."
"Perhaps other workers have their families here?"
Oliver had a rather intense glare. "I recognize Owen Grady from our records of the Washington, D.C. escape."
"And that is Sirius Black," Michael said.
Ishmael dropped his fork on the floor. He moved so he could just see over his shoulder. He quickly recognized Granger and Black. He was not familiar with Grady. The black hair boy and Alexis Murphy joined the group as he sat back up.
"Dear God, it's a whole coven," Oliver said in a hushed voice. The man reached for his cross. They had not taken any of their investitures on them, not wanting to give away what they were. He needed his Rod of David from his luggage, but that might give them away.
Ishmael nodded. They needed to contact Cardinal Richelieu as soon as possible, but they knew they would only be allowed calls to the mainland once a week on the weekends and were told it would be a few days before they would get email access. Even then, they had been told that due to security of the park, all emails would be screened.
"We are not to give ourselves away. Find out all you can. We get our first weekend pass in two weeks," Ishmael told them.
Michael took his attention away from the coven to look up to someone approaching their table.
"Hello. I'm glad to see so many finding people to get along with. You three are going to be Fence Maintenance, correct?"
"We are, Esperanza," Oliver said.
"Good. If you can finish in the next fifteen minutes, you can be in the first group to go on the tour, we can start going over all our electrical and field safety protocols when you get back. If you want to switch departments after that, we are still looking for a maintenance worker here in the main compound and another for the physical plant," she told them in her more upbeat tone.
After seeing everything they had, they would be splitting up into the different departments. He was now very curious to find out what their last team member was learning. She was sitting with the others in the hospitality group. She looked at him, then went back to her animated conversation. The Sisters of the Order were at times the most dangerous of the Hunters. It was a path he never regretted and prayed it would allow him to get through this. He was worried. Twelve children from about six to seventeen and eight adults.
He suspected they all had wands and were probably all as skilled as Black and the black-hair boy. The Order had no records of a Coven that large for many decades.
Oliver nodded towards the group. "Are their families on the island?"
Esperanza looked over at the table. She smiled to see them talking. "The owners and some of the top staff and scientists live here year-round. They have their families here, but I hear they will be moving off the island soon. It has been nice to see them here. They have brought a lively hood to this place and enthusiasm for the dinosaurs some of us had forgotten about," she replied.
"Have you worked here long?" Ishmael enquired.
"A little over four years. I was on the first construction crews working on the fences and the staff apartments. Why don't you finish eating and join me out front as soon as you can," she said.
When she walked away, Oliver said, "She will be someone we will want to question."
"I'll work on her," Ishmael said. He had to often repent for his sins of the flesh, but in service to the Lord, he was willing to risk his soul that way.
-oOo-
Next time on The Magic of Amber: There is always Darkness before the Dawn.